Remembrance
by Jcthegirl
Summary: Xion is given a second chance at life in Twilight Town, but everything must come with its price. When an old face of the past returns and all is said and done, who remembers who? Fate is a fickle entity. Dedicated to Bond of Flame08.
1. Echoes

_Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all of its respective characters, places, etc. belong to Square Enix and Disney._

_This entire fic is dedicated to the awesome **Bond of Flame08. **Yus._

_xxx_

_Main Pairing: Axel x Xion_

_Rated: T - just to be safe. There shall be no cursing or the like, just drama and some violence._

_Updates: Kinda sporadic, sorry.  
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_Please do enjoy.  
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><p><em>Echoes<em>

Whispers. Voices. Echoes down a dark corridor. The fleeting rustle of lilting melodies, trickling into her ears. Eyelids fluttering so their tips brushed the smooth surface of consciousness, but never breaking it. Lips twitching in anticipation, as if to join in with the voices.

_It's my lucky charm-_

_Well what do you want to do..._

_I'll be there. _

_Be sure to bring it back to me!_

_I'll come back to you..._

_Come back with us. _

_I guess-_

_...someone very special. _

_I'm just sad._

_I'll always be there to bring you back!_

_Free them?_

_Who else will I have ice cream with?_

_I promise!_

_...Xion. _

There was loud snap, her body being sucked back to consciousness through black waters. Invisible fingers ensnared her coat, dragging her down to deep and unknown depths. But the force pulling her was stronger and yanked her through like she was a rag doll tossed over raging, foaming waves.

The musical whisperings of the voices slowly lost their breathy rustle until they became normal whispers, ones one would hear coming from the concerned faces of friends or very kind souls. Eyelids broke from the stony hold they had on one another with silent cracks. Fresh air flowed through her nose and slightly parted lips. Her lips and chest shuddered feebly in a violent heave as if she were coughing up streams of darkness.

"Are you ok?" The question was muffled, and she tried to run a hand over her ears to check for an obstruction but found her arms useless.

"Are you ok?" Someone was shaking her gently with a sense of urgency, his or her voice much clearer than before.

"Look, she's coming to, she's coming to! She's moving!" A second voice joined in- now identifiable as male. The contrast between the first and the latter proved the first to he female. Scrunching her face up in concentration, she tried to move an arm and found a few fingers to actually twitch at the command. Feeling was regained up her arm until she could wriggle her fingers with ease.

"Maybe we should get help..." A third now, another male. The sensible words were late and obviously not accustomed to the boy's tongue.

"It's a bit late for that, don't you think?" the girl scolded, and she could only imagine that the girl would have her hands on her hips at the time.

"Well I'm _sorry_, I didn't expect to-" He was cut off by her more frequent stirring. Her eyes forced themselves open until she was staring at an orange-tinted sky, imbued with winding streaks of crimson and flecked with thin wisps of clouds. Sitting up slowly, she found a comforting hand helping her up from her back.

"Are you ok?" the girl repeated for a third time, not at all irritated at asking again.

"Y-" Her voice started to crack so she chose to simply nod instead, doing so as quickly as possible to cover up her wavering voice.

"Phew, we weren't sure for a minute!" the second boy sighed cheerfully. She looked around to allow her eyes to meet them instead of her ears examining their voices.

Behind her, the first thing she found were startling green eyes upon a friendly face, belonging to a young teenage girl with brown locks. At her right was who she assumed was the second boy, one of the same age as the girl with a cheerful, plump face and sparkling brown eyes to match his hair. The third, kneeling in front of her, was obviously the leader of the three. His haphazard blonde hair almost matched his chestnut eyes that seemed to blaze despite their color.

"So who are you? I've never seen you around before." He held a slight hint of suspicion in his question, his head just an inch or two above hers so he could peer down at her over his nose with a sense of superiority.

"I-" She looked away and down at her gloved hands, flexing them as the material squeaked quietly when it was pulled taut over her knuckles. Stopping, she recalled what the voices had said in that... that place before she came to... this place, this place of sunsets.

"...Xion."

_xx- two weeks previously -xx_

"I definitely had imagined that was supposed to be... I dunno, more graceful?" Axel rubbed his back and then the back of his jungle of spikes. He had practically fallen from nowhere and landed on his butt in the middle of the pavement. Brick was quite a hard substance, as many learn the hard way.

"Twilight Town..." he breathed, looking around at the numerous clusters of buildings bathed in the familiar light of sunset. Stopping in the middle of the breath to let his mind wander, he soon found himself exhaling sharply to let in another breath. His chest heaved slightly, lungs filling and emptying, but the both familiar and unfamiliar ticking was still absent. He was still him. Axel. Not Lea.

Shoving his hands in his coat pockets, he slowly walked off to wherever his feet decided to carry him. They scuffled along the reddish brick pavement with drawn out scrapes. When he realized where they were taking him, he laughed humorlessly to himself.

The clocktower. Of course he'd automatically go there; it was habit of course. But it wasn't a habit he necessarily wanted to break.

He meandered along slightly faster, but still dragging his heels with his head lowered and chin to his chest. Everything was said and done; his best friend was safe, even the worlds were he assumed. But what was he going to do? He had nothing, had no one. The darkness was a great temptation, one he had the power to claim at his fingertips, but he had become acquainted with the odd workings of fate.

"Fate sure has a strange way of showing its appreciation," he grumbled to himself, running long fingers through his swaying hair.

The clocktower loomed above him like a peaceful giant, the wind its warm breath as it rested in quiet slumber. Gazing at it with hidden intensity, he let his boots tap dully to a slow stop. Eyes wandered over the countless ridges and still glass doors until they fell on the plaza with an empty stare.

_Gone. _

The word echoed in his mind.

_Remember, remember, remember,_ it whispered.

Suddenly a hand flew to his head, gloved fingers clutching a fistful of crimson locks. Vaguely the memory of Roxas kneeling on the ground in unbridled pain touched his mind for a sudden moment before he found himself in a near identical situation. Gripping the ground for balance, he couldn't even feel its borrowed warmth; it was as if his entire body had gone numb. Normally he would have laughed at the similarity between now and what had happened to Roxas in the vacant halls of Castle Oblivion, which he so _fondly_ called C.O. in his mind, but all such thoughts were pushed away to give space for incoming ones. Whether they were his thoughts, those of someone else, or memories, it was difficult to differentiate.

_A low, crimson sun. The heat of day- and perhaps battle- lingered with heavy humidity over his hanging head. _

_**Too late, too late, too late...**_

_Nothing else. An empty lot showing no signs but telling all. Imaginings of what had happened, and disbelief. Imaginings of what could have happened if he had been there sooner, and anger. Gritting his teeth in frustration and clenching his hands as if it would change anything. _

_**Anything, I'll give anything... **_

_But what was the use? Gone. _

_Waiting for acceptance, but it never came. Five stages went unfinished at four, and closure forgotten as everything else was. _

The whirl of memories- were they memories?- vanished.

_This-_

Axel pushed himself from the ground. Feeling came back to him, or at least in his body. Heat came back to the air around him, but he didn't care.

"I guess... there really isn't anything left for me."

He slowly made his way to the top of the clocktower to watch the sunset alone.

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><p><em>I deeply apologize for the shortness of this chapter, though it is just an intro. I'm planning for the rest to be longer than this one.<em>

_Your reviews and support are much appreciated, though flames and cursing/bashing/etc. in your reviews are not very much appreciated... they make this author(ess?) sad. :C_


	2. Ice Cream

_A/N: Thanks so much for all the feedback; I definitely wasn't expecting that many people ;o; _

_Also, I'd like to note two things._

_One, despite part of this chapter, I don't really plan on this being all high school-y. Unless **Bond of Flame08 **wants it that way. There can always be fun things in between, but I didn't plan on it being the focus._

_Two- This has drama. It could be even called a tragedy. Which means there /may/ be an unhappy ending. So please do put your pitchforks and torches away. C: There's nothing like working hard on a story and having people freaking out because it didn't go how they expected. It's a story for goodness sake. XD (unless of course, **Bond** (this is much easier to type!), you absolutely don't want an unhappy ending.)_

_Rambling over, now on to the chapter that has been half written forever~  
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><p><em>Ice Cream<em>

"Thank you so much for letting me stay at your house, Olette. I have no idea where I would have gone otherwise." Xion offered a shy smile in return for the kindness Olette had shown her. Wanting to turn her pockets inside out looking for something of more value to repay her with, she refrained for she knew a few clumps of lint wouldn't cut it, so instead she nervously drummed her fingers on her thighs in anxious anticipation for the rest of the day.

It had only taken a single week to get integrated into the school system. Surprisingly enough, the school board didn't ask questions about her official guardian and background; it was just another check and stamp routine that drowned them in an endless drove of paperwork and filing. Scan over the papers with tired eyes, sign a worn signature on a black line, and pass it on to be someone else's problem. Though initially, the other students were not as accepting.

Xion heard the whispers. Every moment her back was turned, she accidentally raised a torrent of muted, feverous discussion. They would eye her with curiosity when it was possible their eyes could meet and stare at her with a certain superiority and disgust when they couldn't.

She was new. She was strange. She was different.

But like all things lose their curiosity and newness over time, in a few days she was just another student getting pushed and pulled with the sluggish tides of all the others. They even went as far as to forget her, as if they were making up for their past hostility, placing her in the back of their minds just as she was placed in the back of the classrooms. It almost scared her more that she went ignored rather than as the topic of gossip. Being forgotten was a scary thing, and she didn't like it.

"You, in the back..." The teacher paused for a moment to flip through her grade book. Her scanning eyes found the seating chart she had been searching for. "Xion. What is derivative of f in respect to time, t?"

"T squared plus five," she rattled off without a hint of hesitation. Math had always come easy to her. Or at least, she had assumed it had. At first she was placed in Algebra One, but the discovery of her more extensive knowledge got her shipped off to Calculus. She did ok in all subjects, math over the others- well, with the very blatant exception of history. They made an excuse for her, especially after the teacher had asked her who the first mayor of Twilight Town was and she responded with "This _is_ Twilight Town, right?" Her special case only muffled the other students' snickers.

"Very good." The teacher turned to scrawl a few equations on the whiteboard with squeaky markers.

"Wow Xion, for someone who lost their memory, you're sure great at math!" Olette whispered in amazement when as their teacher's back was turned. Xion shrugged and smiled modestly.

_xxx_

"Heeey, Xion!" Pence stumbled over nothing and was nearly swept away by the amassing mob of students, narrowly dodging in time. Xion could only peer worryingly at him around the countless shoulders and backpacks bobbing about. Finally catching up with her, he paused to take a few shaky breaths before matching his stride to hers.

"So, how've all your classes been, Xion?" Pence's cheerful tone told of how his classes had gone that day.

"Good." She punctuated the short answer with a somewhat forced smile. School was ok, but she still wasn't too used to it.

"That's great!" His bubbly attitude was contagious and refreshing, especially in comparison to dry lectures and Hayner's natural attitude. She couldn't help but allow a real smile to surface. For a moment, it faltered noticeably into a softly shocked "o" shape.

"Something wrong?" Pence's concerned voice reached her ears.

"N-no..." Blinking away the strange sensation, she adopted the fake smile again. "It's nothing."

"I don't think it's nothing." Olette intoned each word slowly as if she was coming to a conclusion as she spoke.

"Where did you come from?" Xion yelped in surprise, nearly jumping back at Olette's sudden appearance and close proximity.

"Well, that class right there," she indicated to a now closed door on their left, "but that's aside the point. What if, I don't know, you might be remembering something?"

"Yeah, it could be some kind of sixth sense thing or something!" Pence waved his arms in exaggeration of his strange notion.

"That's just your weirdness talking, Pence." Hayner drifted over with hands shoved in his pockets and backpack slung over one shoulder.

"It could be! There are plenty of studies out there to prove-"

"Yeah, yeah, so what's the deal here?" Hayner rolled his eyes. Xion sighed.

"I honestly don't know. It was kinda like, I don't know, this weird... flutter or flicker at the back of my mind... like a- a scent almost." She tried to emphasize her point with her hands, but no motions for the strange feeling came to mind. "You guys probably think I'm just crazy, huh?"

"Well-"

Pence cut Hayner off without breaking the flow of the conversation. "Of course not! I mean, it's not like we haven't dealt with this kind of thing before, you guys. I mean, look at all the stuff that happened with Kairi, and Sora."

"So...ra?" Xion tried the word out as if she was tasting it. If a name could taste like anything, it sure tasted familiar.

"Yeah, you see, there was this whole deal with the worlds being in trouble, and Sora had to-"

"Pence! We weren't supposed to tell!" Olette nearly yelled in exasperation, and Pence smacked himself in the forehead.

"Oh yeah! Well, it's a secret," he whispered ("Not anymore!" Olette murmured in irritation), "but this girl Kairi came about a year back and all this weird stuff happened. So we're kinda used to it."

"O-ok..." She simply nodded. They walked through the dull halls slowly, Olette and Hayner chatting- or rather arguing- about something or other while Xion's mind was elsewhere.

_xxx_

"Xion!" Someone called her from behind, a ways down the smooth tramway she had been wandering along on her way to Olette's house. For a moment, she almost turned around and called back, but the call back caught in her throat when she realized she didn't recognize the voice. Or maybe she did, but it was so brief and quick she couldn't be sure.

Just barely having finished her one hundred eighty degree spin on her heels, Xion slammed into someone. A string of apologies had already formed in her mouth, ready to spill out. That is, until whoever it was wrapped his or her- wait, his, definitely his- arms around her tightly in a close embrace, bordering on bone-crushing but held back by restraint.

"Xion, you're here..." He murmured into the top of her head, mostly to himself. Xion's arms, now sticking out a bit from the force of the embrace, hung in the air awkwardly. She wriggled a bit in his firm grasp to test if she would be escaping anytime soon- but the experiment verified there would likely be no escape. Her face was smushed against his chest and her voice rendered useless, so she loosened her tension a notch with the thought that struggling would only make things worse. He continued to speak gently to both her and himself, and she thought she felt a drop of wetness touch her head.

"Mmmff..." Giving up on the idea that he would let go soon, she attempted to talk. "Hhmmff!"

"Hm? Oh, sorry-" He de-latched himself from her, pulling her away but keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Better?"

She could hear the smirk in the voice before she saw the real thing. It was the second thing she noticed, right after his eyes. They watched her expectantly, waiting for her to do something as if on cue. She just stared at them and then averted her gaze away and back, not sure what to say, or really, what she was supposed to say.

"H-hi?" she spluttered quietly, leaning away. A dull curtain fell over his eyes, but the smirk didn't go away.

"Guess you're not too excited to see me, heh."

He straightened up and was suddenly distanced from her. She suddenly became aware of the cool fall breeze sweeping over the common and into the alleys.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" He stared down and away from her. "I'm... sorry."

"I- well-" How could she phrase it in the nicest way possible? "Have we- met?"

He whipped around with his gaze boring into her, his blood-red hair jerking with the sudden movement. Xion was forced to look at them, and what she glimpsed ripped her apart inside.

"You're- not serious, right? You're just joking... right? After all, if you learned at all, you learned from the best." He forced a smirk, more like a half-grin, fake. It faded. "But you are serious, aren't you."

He turned away from her pained expression again to hide his own. "I..."

The way he stood threatened for him to walk away at any moment. But he stayed, not rooted to the spot, just standing there. Xion somehow found the courage to comfort him; maybe it was what she couldn't see on his face that drove her to.

"B-but maybe I have- have met you before," she stuttered as optimistically as possible. A hesitant hand reached out, backing away before it brushed his sleeve. As if sensing the possibility of contact, he shifted slightly. Laughter rose like bile in his throat, and he forced it back down. Oh, the irony.

"Heh. Maybe." He donned his best façade and whirled around to face her. "See you later, then. Oh, and I'm Axel. Just- don't forget I'm sorry, ok? Get it memorized."

Hesitating for a slight moment, he began walking away before she grabbed his arm.

"Why don't we go..." She strained her mind to think of something on the spot. What seemed to be the best idea ever occurred to her, and she blurted it out in relief and happiness. "Ice cream!"

His arm tensed slightly under her tough grip, but he chuckled instead, the tiniest bit of bitter lingering in his laugh.

"What about it?"

"W-we should go have ice cream, and you can tell me about how you know me," she proffered, realizing a moment after her sentence how ridiculous it had sounded. He chuckled genuinely this time, and she released her hold on his arm.

"On the clocktower, I bet?"

Xion blinked a few times and furrowed her brow. "Yeah, that's sort of what I was thinking; how did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

_xxx_

"So what do you know about me, Axel?" Xion swung her legs over the edge of the clocktower nervously, partly from the idea that someone knew more about her than she did and partly from hanging over empty air with a rock hard bottom.

"Oh, just some things. Point is, we're friends." He grinned a little when he saw frustration etch itself into her features at his vague answer. Handing her an ice cream, he took a large bite out of his own.

"...Anything else?" she questioned with a nonchalant raise of her eyebrows and purse of her lips, trying to press more answers out of him.

"Look, Xi-" He caught himself at the end of the nickname, "-on, what if me telling you all this just makes things worse? If I can tell you one thing, it's that you haven't had the best... experience with memories. It could hurt you, or something."

What was he supposed to say, _hey, __I'm __your__ best __friend __who__ died __a __little __while__ back, __and __oh,__ you're __a __Replica __who __also__ died_? Not going to work.

"You know amnesiacs- well actually, you wouldn't since you are one, haha..." He rubbed the back of his head at the accidental joke, managing a small giggle from Xion.

"How about this." Axel clapped his hands together and pulled his hands apart until only the tips of his fingers were touching. "We'll start small, working our way up bit by bit."

She nodded eagerly, not saying anything in silent anticipation. She was surprised at herself for being so automatically trusting.

"Ok then..." His mind continued to come back to the idea he didn't really want to start with. An internal sigh almost escaped his mouth, his voice instead coming out as weary. "Roxas. Do you remember him?"

"Roxas... I think so..." She leaned her elbows on her knees and cupped her chin in her hand as she drummed her fingers on her cheek.

First word you ever said, he thought to himself with a mental smirk.

Her head jerked up and snapped in his direction. "I do, he-"

Groaning, she dug her nails into her scalp as her face contorted painfully. Her breathing became labored, and her head fell back onto her shoulders as her body swung forward toward the nausea-inducing fall beneath her feet.

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><p><em>Lol random calculus insert there. Calculus is not that fun. :C<em>

_Your support is much appreciated. ^^ Writing a full romance fic is hard. OTL  
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	3. The Old Mansion

_A/N: Thank you so much everyone for your reviews ;o; It makes my day. /hugs all of you/ While I ALWAYS read all my reviews, I don't always respond to them like this though.  
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_**Bond: **Lol, how would they react... coincidentally, my mind came up with this. And I'm glad you don't want a high school fic; it's not my type of thing to write. And don't worry, I am a terribly lazy reviewer as you can see 8D Aaand good thing you're ok with unhappy endings. Still unsure on that though. (even I don't know exactly why Xion doesn't remember yet lol. /fails)  
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_**Taliax: **I lol'd at your pun. I love puns so much. /goes off to review your story because I have been lazy_

_**Timber Wolf of Purity: **asdfjkl; awww thank you ;; I'll tryyy... stress on the try..._

_**piratejackfan: **Thanks! :D  
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><p><em>The Old Mansion<em>

"Xion!"

She lurched forward, her blue ice cream slipping from its stick and soon the stick from her hand as the deathly still space rose to meet her. Not a single cry or scream arose from her throat; she simply slid off the tower as easily as the ice cream had from the light stick. Completely unaware of her body, she did not even feel a warm hand grasp hers and haul her back up in one smooth motion.

"Wake up, come on, wake up..." Axel murmured to her, cradling her limp body over his legs where he sat. She barely stirred at all. He groaned inwardly, knowing very well that she would be fine but knowing the amount of time it would take was definitely questionable.

Her bangs, now in disarray from her near slip to a quick and painful death, hung over her lidded eyes and pale features messily. He pushed them aside with a quick brush of his fingers. Eyelids twitching almost unnoticeably, her eyes were jumping about behind them. Luckily, her breathing was normal again, and she did not seem to be in much pain at all.

"Hey!" The unfriendly call came from the entrance to the tower's top, accompanied by three displeased teenagers. The source of the shout was, surprisingly, not from one of the two boys, but from the solitary girl of the small group. She was frowning fiercely, an uncharacteristic trait on her usually smiling face, as she balled her hands at her sides and firmly planted her feet, orange socks glaring blatantly against her khaki pants.

"Get away from her, creep!"

She stomped over and began swatting him over the head with a tight wad of papers (why she brought homework with her to their second hangout was beyond the two boys) as she called for her companions to aid her.

"Leave-"

Swat!

"-her-"

Swat!

"-alone!"

Swat!

Hayner and Pence stood off to the side dumbly, letting her use her homework for, what they would later say, something useful for once.

"Hey, will you- will you just stop for a second; I can explain!" Axel yelled in exasperation, trying to defend himself with a free arm as he firmly kept Xion from slipping off again. He briefly thought about lighting the papers on fire, but even he grudgingly decided that probably wasn't the best way to get anyone to listen to him. Plus, he had seen this girl before; if one thing mattered to her, it was her homework. A wad of paper wasn't nearly as painful as fists after all.

"Listen to you!" Olette shouted in disbelief, only pausing for a moment before resuming her enraged swatting.

"What, didn't get your fill of kidnapping innocent girls, huh?" she mocked savagely. Hayner simply continued to stand aside, looking as if he was watching a good movie, minus the popcorn. Pence was wide-eyed in some potent mixture of amusement, respect, and fear.

It would have gone on for who knows how long if Xion, as if sensing her "new" friend in "danger," hadn't come to as soon as she did.

"Nnh... O...Olette?" Xion's eyelids fluttered open, and she pushed herself upright. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you!" Olette finally stopped thwacking Axel over the head (or rather, the hair) with her homework and jerkily yanked Xion away from him by her wrist.

"What- Olette, I don't need saving; in fact, he saved me from falling off the clocktower!" she attempted to explain as Olette all but dragged her away. She released Xion and turned back with a look of astonishment.

"He what?"

"Saved me! From falling off the clocktower!" she explained impatiently, the beginnings of a laugh rising in her throat at the apparent situation. "We- well- Axel says he knew me before, and if I'm ever going to find anything out about my past, I-"

"Wait, _he_ knew you before?" She shot a glare at Axel from around Xion, frowning angrily. He was busy patting his hair back down to its normal, albeit large volume. Standing up and brushing himself off, he walked over to them, keeping a few feet distance.

"Yes, and I was trying to help her get her memories back. No need to smack people." He chuckled a little, only managing to make Olette slightly embarrassed.

"Well, maybe, but that's certainly not what my first guess was. And considering what's happened in the past, it wouldn't be surprising," she huffed as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"What happened in the past?" Xion turned on him with hands on her hips and a stern look.

"Well..." He ran a stray hand through his hair and stared up at the clouds as if he had found something extremely interesting among them.

Olette whirled around and pointed an accusing index finger at him.

"He kidnapped Kairi, the girl who we said came here a year ago!

"You what!" Xion yelled hotly, mouth agape.

"Hey, I-"

"I can't believe this!" she ranted angrily. "I trusted you!"

"Look, I was doing it to save my best friend," he snapped bitterly. "I was selfish. So what. I had already lost one friend-" _Not__ that__ you __even __remembered_, his critical conscious reminded him- "and I wasn't about to lose another."

Xion quieted, not having expected such an outburst from him.

"I think that's pretty fair, don't you?"

His words were fierce enough that even a somewhat shamefaced Olette turned back without a trace of her original indignation.

"Besides, I saved Sora instead. He got Kairi back. Both his best friends... Who knows what would've happened if I hadn't helped," Axel added gruffly.

"You... did?" Olette asked, surprised. Pence and Hayner slid over, wanting to hear more of the conversation.

"Yeah. I did. You can choose whether to believe it or not, but I'm still telling you I did. Just stop treating me like some 'bad guy.' And how ungrateful of Sora, not bothering to tell anyone…" he grumbled to himself.

"How can we believe you after what you did?" Hayner folded his arms into one another with a skeptical look.

"I don't particularly care if you believe me or not- you can trust me on that. But what matters to me is helping Xion-" Axel gave her a sidelong glance, "if she's willing to trust me."

She scanned over his face hesitantly, finally coming to a conclusion.

"I trust you," she assured him, almost as if confessing, looking ashamed. She had no idea why she would suddenly put her trust in someone she had, in a way, just met and found out was kidnapper of all things, though she put stress on the was.

All four seemed taken aback by her decision.

"I... I do, for whatever crazy reason. And anyway," she turned to her three doubtful friends, "this may be my only chance at remembering anything."

They exchanged dubious looks with one another, their eyes darting back to Xion.

"Well, if you say so, Xion." Pence finally put in his own thoughts.

"You're just gonna let all this go that easy?" Hayner questioned with a small degree of disbelief he only reserved for Pence, since most of the things that came out Pence's mouth were just plain ridiculous to Hayner.

"If Xion says so, I believe it. I trust her judgment," he said cheerfully. Olette just chuckled at Hayner's obvious frustration with his friend's lack of concern.

"Thanks, Pence." Xion smiled a bit modestly. She addressed Axel again, glancing at the three from the corner of her eye and back. "I'm ready to try again when you are."

Her three friends managed to discern her obvious hint at their expected departure, and they slowly trickled away with a few goodbyes.

"So, do you remember anything about what happened before you nearly fell from the clocktower? Or anyone?" Axel was serious for the most part, still managing to tease her while asking a simple question.

Xion stared at him blankly.

"I'll take that as a no..." He absentmindedly went to take a bite from his ice cream but instead discovered a mouthful of empty air. "Man, I can't believe this!"

"What?" Xion was alarmed, stiffening in her spot.

"My ice cream! It must've fallen when your friend whacked me with her homework," he said wistfully, unable to suppress a small laugh at his recollection of the recent events. She giggled and searched the ground below for the lost ice cream, finding a small blue puddle spreading over the sun-washed bricks.

"I may not remember anything, but some things do seem familiar."

"Like what?"

"Well, the names you, Olette, Pence, and Hayner have mentioned. This ice cream, too. And... you do, too." She traced her thumb up and down the popsicle stick.

"Really? That's great; we're making progress," he said cheerfully, grinning widely. She brightened considerably at the new hope. "Though we've still got a long ways to go."

Xion lowered her eyes and sighed. He had to refrain from ruffling her hair to cheer her up; it was strange to think their levels of familiarity differed from each point of view.

"Anyway... How should we go about this..?" Axel mused to himself. He tapped his chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, he snapped his long fingers. "A-ha! That's it!"

"What's it?"

"Oh wait, no, can't do that... Hmm..." Axel desperately wanted to just open up a portal and hope that somehow wherever he shoved her would cure her of that ridiculous amnesia as his impatient nature told him it would, but there were way too many complications in the way. No coat for her, if she didn't have her old coat, for one. He could lend her his coat, but he while he was curious what exactly happened to an unprotected Nobody in unbridled darkness, he did not want to find out the hard way. Plus, the portals had been mysteriously unstable, for him at least. And speaking of Nobodies, he still had yet to tell her about that... But mostly, he was worried what impact such a sudden restoration of memories would have on her. She had always been extremely unstable when it came to memories. Just her attempting to remember Roxas sent her flying off the edge of the clocktower.

An idea occurred to him. "Have you ever been to the old mansion here?"

Xion found it a little funny the way he mentioned here, as if there were plenty more places he had been with old mansions or otherwise just as interesting equivalents. "Pence mentioned it once."

"Since I take it you haven't-" Wow, it really must've been irritating to her how he never answered things straightforwardly- "we should check it out."

"How come?" she instinctively asked.

"If I could tell you, I wouldn't be taking you there, now would I?" He smirked.

_xxx_

"Through there." Axel pointed to a clearing barely visible through the dense forest. Xion walked right behind him, occasionally nicking the back of his boots with the little black boots Olette had lent her, much to his irritation. Watching his boots cautiously to avoid stepping on them again, she suddenly realized how odd his outfit was. For whatever reason, the heavy trench coat, boots, and gloves, all a plain, glossy black, didn't seem at all out of place in her mind. It just seemed awfully out of place in the town.

"Hey, Axel." They were nearly upon the clearing.

"Hm?"

"How come you're wearing this coat?" She tugged gently on a relatively loose fold along his back.

"Normally I don't wear it around here, but I just happened to be when I found you," he said offhandedly as if it answered her question. It technically was the truth.

_When this is all over, I swear- I'm not gonna lie to her ever again. _

"But-"

"Look, here it is," he interrupted her.

An ancient, dilapidated mansion loomed above them in foreboding silence. Xion's eyes ran over it in quiet awe. Axel snuck a glance at her expression.

What if she did remember something? She would probably remember fighting with him, and then she wouldn't trust him, and then she would leave him, just like they both had, and then he would be alone again... His train of thoughts ran along those empty tracks without a stop in sight.

But there was no point in taking it back now. They were already there.

Xion was staring at the curtained window. She barely blinked at all, and Axel was somewhat relieved she was fixated on it instead of remembering what he feared she would.

"What're you looking at, Xion?"

"The..." She paused momentarily, holding her intent gaze. "The curtains... Axel, does someone live here?"

"I doubt it. I mean, look at the place."

He added a last thought as an incoherent mumble. "Though some people did live here for about a year, but they're long gone now."

"Are you sure? I could've sworn there was some rumor about a girl who-" Something swept the curtains back from the grimy glass. Without taking her eyes off the window, she pointed at it excitedly. "There, did you see that?"

"Hm? See what?" He had been, much to his secret embarrassment, zoning out on her face, silently musing to himself how much older she looked in comparison to before. Maybe she had developed at the same rate Sora did. Or perhaps Kairi instead, considering Xion looked much more like the older Kairi he remembered.

"They moved..." The curtains were completely still again by the time Axel looked at them.

"I don't see anything."

"I- I guess I'm just imagining it, then," she mumbled uncertainly, still not wanting to take her eyes off it.

"Probably a draft or something," he reassured her so as to give a solid explanation instead of calling her simply crazy.

Xion thought back hard to what she was certain she saw, before it disappeared from her mind. Not much came to mind except an out of place color.

_Blue..._

"So you can't remember anything?" Axel's voice broke her concentration and so scattered her thoughts in a shower of fragile shards.

"Other than everything I've said, no. Nothing at all..." she began to feel frustration at its finest surfacing in her words. "We should go inside- there has to be something in there to help if this place is as important as you say."

"...Fine, let's check it out then." He was a little reluctant to let her search the place so closely tied with the influx and outflow of Sora's memories, but at the moment there wasn't much else to check.

Xion began heading in first, but Axel stopped her.

"But if we're going in, I'm going first. You don't know what's in there."

She snorted at what she took as an attempt at chivalry and an insult to her own strength. "And you do?"

He rolled his eyes at her but made her take up the rear all the same.

Truth be told, Xion was glad he lead the way. The eerie, desolate foyer with its smashed in tables and broken candlesticks laying among various debris would have been enough to deter her from her quest, had she been alone.

Axel noticed her trepidation at exploring the place with a small smirk. He looked over at the door he knew lead off to the library warily.

_Gotta__ be __careful;__ I__ can__'__t __take __her __into __Ansem__'__s __lab._

He didn't have to worry. Xion, as if in a trance, calmly walked past him without a word and began up the stairs. She glided towards the left door, much to his relief, but it caught up to him that he probably shouldn't let her out of his sight. He stumbled over the scattered remains of the foyer.

"Wait, Xion!"

_Man, why am I always chasing after that girl?_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Aw, not as much happened as I wanted. Oh well._

_As I say every time, your reviews are always very much appreciated. (not in a way of begging; I like seriously love your reviews. :U)  
><em>


	4. Restoration

_Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry it's been forever, school's busy D:  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Restoration<em>

"Xion, what are you doing?" Axel panted, having had chased her up the stairs a few moments previously. Her eyes swept over the room with the wonderment of a newborn. "Xion?"

He waved his hand in front of her face, and she barely blinked.

"This place—it's special."

"Yeah, that's right. So, do you... remember anything?" he asked her cautiously.

"...Nothing. All I know is that it's special." Glancing over at the walls, she noticed the many childish drawings done in crayon hanging all over the place. There was one in particular that caught her eye.

"Is this... us?" She walked to one slowly, her hand gliding up the wall to touch the slightly curled up edge of the white paper. Three figures, each in black and with starkly contrasting hair colors, were drawn side by side in the center of it. Unlike all the other drawings around, it looked a bit... off. Like it hadn't been hanging there very long. "It looks almost new."

Axel stood close behind her, looking at the picture over her shoulder. "Yeah..."

"Who's that, Axel?" Xion pointed at the figure to the left of her own portrayal.

"That's Roxas. Our best friend."

She carefully slid the paper from the wall, still continuing to scrutinize every aspect of it. "Is it ok if I keep this?"

"I'm pretty sure it's fine."

"What about whoever drew it?"

"I don't think she'd miss it."

"Ok then..." Xion slipped it away into her pocket, neatly folded into a small square. Her hand brushing over it, she gazed off at nothing. "Axel, are you sure no one lives here? I really get the feeling someone does."

"Trust me, no one does. Like I said, they're all long gone. Besides, who would even want to live here anyway? Talk about creepy."

"Yeah, guess you're right."

She couldn't help but let her eyes come back to the pictures scattered all over. Each one made her almost sense the memories buried in the back of her mind, waiting to be pieced back together. "Can we take a few more? I think they might help us with my memories."

"Sure, pick out all the ones you want."

She collected up all the ones that she deemed important- in other words, almost all of them. One of the ones she didn't take was one of two young boys, silver and brown hair, and two girls, red and blond hair. The blonde was scribbled over, the paper shiny from so much wax. It didn't feel right to take.

The sheaf of papers in Xion's arms ever-growing, she stopped piling them up to stare at another picture, one of Roxas, who was apparently her best friend alongside Axel, and the same brunet from the picture she had left untouched.

"Who's this?"

"Someone connected to your memories that you'll learn about eventually."

She would just have to get used to him never answering things straight, wouldn't she?

She squinted at the picture as if a clue would jump out at her. Something about the way the boy carried himself, his clothes, or maybe something entirely different made him seem more... bold, more brave.

"Hm... he looks like a hero."

"All depends on the point of view. You have to remember, there's always two sides to each story. Got it memorized? Like these pictures- they'll only tell you one side of the story, but that's better than nothing, right?"

"I suppose."

She pulled it from the wall and to the top of her stack. "Why don't we go back to Olette's house and look at all these?"

"Good idea."

_xxx_

"...That was pretty awkward. Not gonna lie." Axel plopped down onto the floor, avoiding the sea of pictures flooding the room. Xion had just had to introduce him to Olette's parents, who had so kindly let him eat dinner with them, despite his... history. Afterwards they had headed to the guest room, currently Xion's room, to look at all the pictures.

"Not my fault some people around here are crazy kidnappers... But, I've got to agree with you," Xion responded distractedly, scrunching up her hands in her hair and staring down the wave of pictures before her. She had changed into simple sweat pants and a tank top, more things borrowed from a very generous Olette's closet.

Axel refrained from saying anything against her comment on the kidnapping. It was true, after all.

"This is so frustrating!" She groaned, falling back into an empty space on the floor, hair messily strewn about. "I feel so useless and powerless! I can't remember anything at all!"

"I know how you feel."

"You do?" Her face was incredulous as she sat up again.

"Sure. There was a point in time where—well, I forgot about you too."

Xion blinked a few times in astonishment, and then drew her knees to her chest. "Oh."

"N-not that I meant to! The memories of you... No one could keep them, so we all lost them, one by one. I hate that powerless feeling too. I just had to sit there and watch them all fade away, knowing all the while they would be the last I would ever see of you. And then, they were gone, just like that. Of course I couldn't have thought about them, but maybe that guilt was still lying around somewhere inside me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that..." She pulled herself into an even tighter ball. Her damp eyes were barely visible over her knees.

"Don't be, Xion." Axel cleared the way through the papers to sit beside her. "Nothing's your fault."

"...Thanks, Axel." She chuckled weakly. "Sounds like one crazy story though."

"It definitely was." He smirked up at the ceiling, not reacting in the slightest when she leaned into him a little. At least, he didn't show his reaction. They sat that way for a while, both staring off into space with their thoughts in turmoil.

"Why are you so _warm_?" She stopped leaning on him and grabbed his arm in both her hands instead. "I can even feel your body heat through your coat!"

"I guess my inner fire and passions burn strong, or something." He struggled to keep a straight face, having to settle for a lopsided grin.

"...Could you be any cornier?"

"Xion, you haven't seen corny. Perhaps you would enjoy puns instead?"

"Please don't."

"Ok, ok, fine. I'll spare you the cruel and unusual punishment. But to answer your question, well—"

He eyed her cautiously, hesitantly looking at his fingers and back to her. "No freaking out, ok? I promise I won't burn the house down."

Not really sure what she was agreeing to, she nodded anyway.

All of a sudden a small flame lit above the tip of his outstretched index finger, as if his hand was a lighter. It obediently jumped from fingertip to fingertip, finally growing into a ball of crimson with a deep blue core. It swirled around his hand and danced around Xion's head as she watched in awe.

"How are you _doing_ that?"

"It's—well, it's a long story. But it's one of those things I can just do, you know? You can do it too, but with—"

"I can?" she squealed in excitement, immediately holding out her hand and boring her eyes into it with extreme concentration. Axel laughed at the look on her face.

"While you can use fire, it's not the same as my fire. You use light."

"Oh! Well, how do I do that?"

"It's something you're going to have to remember on your own. I can't use light, so I can't help you there. Sorry, Xion."

She looked down at her hands sadly. Her eyes brightened considerably when the flame landed in the center of them, licking at her palms but not hurting at all. It suddenly transformed into a flaming phoenix that flew about her head, then a stoic wolf that padded along her arm, then a lion that roared and disappeared altogether.

"You always liked when I did that."

"Some things never change, huh? I wish I could use fire like that."

"Nah, you don't. Fire's dangerous, destructive, and deadly."

"But it's beautiful, and it can keep you warm. If someone were about to freeze to death somewhere, fire could save their life."

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "True, but fire could never be tamed completely, no matter what you do. Fire obeys me, but it's not _mine_. Once I'm not around, it goes back to doing as it pleases."

"Well, I like fire." She rubbed her head with a small groan. "Why do I get this painful sense of déjà vu?"

"We've already had this conversation before." He grinned. It was kind of fun getting to meet Xion all over again, except this time without Roxas around. Though he missed Roxas, it was nice to be with just Xion. Axel almost felt like hadn't know her at all after being alone with her for just a day. She was the real Xion, not one held back by some black cloak and all its secrets.

"That would make sense, I guess." She sifted through the papers and picked one out. "This place looks pretty."

It was a drawing of the ocean reflecting the warm colors of sunset over an oddly bent tree. That same brown haired boy sat on the tree, looking over the waters. To Xion, he looked like he was ready for some big task ahead of him, despite not having an expression for her to see.

"That's... You took seashells from there, sometimes."

"I wish I could go there." She sighed, letting her elbows fall onto her crossed legs. "It's weird, it-"

Out of nowhere, a swirling, black mass appeared below her and she began to fall in, gripping at the carpet in vain. "Axel!"

He reached for her all too late as she slipped into the darkness. Without a moment's hesitation, he dove in after her.

A few pictures fluttered about as the portal disappeared, soon settling down again and leaving no other trace of the two except for their presence.

_xxx_

The sounds of seagulls' plaintive cries echoed one another as waves brushed over the smooth shore with frothy hands. The sun rested on the horizon line as low as possible, looking as if it did not wish to fall into the water anytime soon.

Axel was on top of Xion, his arms protectively wrapped around her. Neither was completely conscious. When her breath kept tickling his ear, he began to stir with an irritated look on his face. When he finally came to, he jumped back a bit, afraid he had been crushing her petite body.

"Xion, you ok?" He was still almost sitting on her, but he no longer allowed her to support his weight. Shaking her shoulders, he continued to call for her, "Xion, wake up."

He looked around briefly to see they had somehow come to Destiny Islands. Who had opened that portal...? Had she?

He returned his attention to Xion, whose eyes were fluttering open. "What just happened?"

She tried to sit up a little but found him on top of her. She blushed fiercely, an angry look crossing her face. "W-what are you—"

"The portals are dangerous if you haven't got a coat on. I didn't want to know what would happen to you if you were unprotected."

Axel rolled off of her, not before she had realized he had been all of a few inches from her face. His eyes were so pretty and green, emerald green... She scrambled away a little.

"O-oh, thanks."

Before a loud silence had the opportunity to descend on them, much to Xion's relief, Axel immediately began asking questions.

"Xion, did you open that portal?"

"I did? I mean, did I? I don't know; I didn't even know I could open them."

Standing up, he offered her a hand. She took it and was soon on her feet, if not a little unsteadily. The sand came to meet her as her feet gave out from under her, but he caught her right before she fell.

"Here." Axel swept her up bridal style. Seeing the retort forming in her mind, he grinned, "Don't worry about it. It's not the first time I've had to carry you around. I think you might be shaky for a while from that encounter with the darkness. You're just always in some kind of trouble, aren't you, Xion?"

She exhaled through her nose and turned her face into his coat. Her voice came out muffled and grumpy. "I wish I wasn't. I wish I could be normal."

"Well, I'm glad you're not 'normal'."

She glared up at him and frowned. "Why would you want me to not be normal?"

"If you were, I never would have met you. That's something good that came out of it, isn't it? At least I hope so."

She looked so much older. It was a strange time to think about it, but he did anyway. She wasn't the same tiny little innocent Xion, on the outside at least. Though she really had only aged all of one or two years, it was strange to see after knowing young Xion. But inside, she was still the same, and for that he was relieved.

He could handle the physical changes as long as the rest of her went intact. In fact, he didn't mind the physical changes. Her hair was longer, and he liked it that way. That among... other things. She was more like a _girl_ than before. But no, he couldn't really think of it that way, could he? Best friends didn't do that kind of thing.

"...Axel? Did you hear me? I'm normally the one to space out, not you."

"No, sorry, what were you saying?"

"...Nevermind." Her downcast eyes told him that she didn't feel like repeating whatever she had just said. He mentally cursed himself for upsetting her and for missing what she had said.

They didn't say anything for a while as Axel carried her over the white sand and across the wooden bridge. Finally, Xion spoke up quietly.

"Axel... why do you think the memories hurt me?"

"Well... they practically have to be untangled from another's memories for you to get them back. That's all I can think of."

Xion sat up in alarm, nearly falling out of his arms. "This other person, am I hurting her? Or him?"

"Don't worry about him. I'm sure he's fine; he's been through a lot worse."

She settled back down, her worries almost somewhat eased. He let her down cautiously next to the tree, allowing her to hold him around the neck so she could test her ability to stand again. She smiled sheepishly when she accidentally pulled at some of his hair.

"It's ok; I think I can stand again."

She let go of him, making sure her legs worked completely before pulling herself onto the tree trunk. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Axel, I think I remember something!"

"Really? What?" His head swiveled toward her, emerald eyes blazing in anticipation.

"Well, you were there, except you were standing, and-and I was right here where I'm sitting, and Roxas was right here..."

She pointed to where Axel currently sitting, then her seat, and lastly the empty spot to her right. Hands clasped together, she sighed.

"I was... saying something about leaving."

"...I'm not sure if I remember that. We never went to the beach." The fact that they never did still haunted him. He may have been there then, with her, but when they promised they would go, it was supposed to be all of them, and they were supposed to, well, _remember_ one another.

"Then I guess it's not a memory..."

"Could have been a dream, which is still technically a memory. We did talk about the beach."

"Maybe. But I do remember coming here, for shells."

She could distinctly see herself roaming about the shore when she shut her eyes tight enough. Picking one up gently, the memory-her smiled softly. _'What__was__I__thinking__about?_'

"...They were shells for Roxas, weren't they? There was something wrong, so I brought them for him."

Surprise crossed Axel's features. "I didn't know you did that, but yes, there were some, uh, complications with Roxas."

So she brought shells for Roxas? Was that when he was gone to Castle Oblivion? He hadn't even known her back then. His stomach constricted out of... something that definitely couldn't have and shouldn't have been a feeling.

'Wonder if she would have brought seashells for me if I was hurt.' It was a bitter thought.

They fell into silence again.

"...So how are we getting back?" Xion asked.

"No idea."

_xxx_

"I'll try again." Axel held out a hand in front of him and concentrated. A small spurt of darkness bubbled up in the air but soon died away into black wisps.

"Ok, then I'll try again too." As he had told her she was capable of opening portals as well, she had gone to trying. Xion mimicked his stance and put all her attention into summoning a portal, but to no avail. She looked at her bare feet sadly, vaguely thinking about how soft and familiar the grains felt between her toes. "I don't think I can do it again, Axel."

"What a lovely time for both of us to lose our ability to open portals... Here, let's try at the same time." He slid her small hand into his. They focused as much as humanly possible, but nothing happened.

"I guess we'll just have to—"

Another portal flew open in front of them, its black tendrils blazing and writhing about.

"We did it!" Xion exclaimed happily, bounding towards it. Axel held her back and looked at her knowingly as a reminder that she still didn't have a coat. "I _guess_ we did... but you still need a coat."

He unzipped his own down all the way, but Xion protested. "You can't give me yours; you'll get hurt-"

He silenced her by pulling her right against him, throwing the coat around her. He zipped it up with her inside it, the two of them sharing the coat. A blush seared her face as she purposely stared directly at his shirt to avoid his eyes.

Xion could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against her own as he walked toward the gaping portal with her inside his coat. When he pulled her closer, a shiver ran up her spine despite the warmth inside the coat. It was so comfortable and warm...

"Hold on tight, Xion."

She broke out her thoughts to clutch fistfuls of his undershirt, and he stepped through the portal.

_xxx_

"So." Computers hummed so low it seemed secretive, and a keyboard clicked quietly and rapidly. The typing was even the entire way through, not a pause or moment taken to think at all. "That's your plan."

The typing abruptly stopped.

"Then I'll just have to use this to my advantage. That sounds exactly like something you would do, Axel."

There was a harsh click. The computer whizzed loudly as it processed before a barely female, nearly genderless voice echoed the information back.

"_Restoration__ at__ ten__ percent_."

_Things'll happen soon, I promise. XD I just like to kind of further their relationship and add fluff, and I wanted to introduce our mystery person, haha. Credit to **Timber Wolf of Purity **for the idea of Axel making the fire into things. Go read her stories nao. CB I still need to review them D:_


	5. Past

_Past_

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><p><em>Besides, it was just a dream... wasn't it?<em>

* * *

><p>Xion and Axel were spat out of the portal back into the guest room of Olette's house. Xion slipped on a picture, and with their combined weight too much for them to stand, they tipped over. Axel purposely twisted as they fell so he didn't land right on top of her again. Papers flew into the air as they crashed to the ground, Xion still pressed against him as he fell onto his back.<p>

"Sorry, are you ok? I didn't mean to land on you!" she babbled, flustered once again. Beginning to push away from him, she realized his coat was still zipped up around her.

"It's fine. I didn't want to smash you under all of _this_." He smirked as he flexed his arms from beneath her. Regaining some of her composure, Xion shifted so she could look him in the eye without their faces being too close. She was a stickler for personal space unless around friends, and Axel... was an ally, until further investigation. But a little teasing couldn't hurt.

"Under all of what?" She tilted her head to the side innocently, her face splitting into a smile at his offended gasp.

"Ouch, Xi. That hurt. Right here." He went to press a hand over his chest, but found her in his way.

He dropped his hand to the side with a laugh, and Xion did the same. It only grew into more laughter as he fumbled with the zipper, unable to unzip it because of their laughter.

Finally getting a grip on it, he practically ripped it down before he lost his hold on it again.

She rolled away onto her back, laying beside him as she stared up at the ceiling with him. "What now?"

"Hm?"

"We can't open portals on command. What are we supposed to do?"

He grinned. "Probably just wait around until another one opens up. But until then, I suggest you get a full night's sleep."

He sat up and ruffled her hair. Papers were stuck to his back, and he peeled them away with a small frown.

"Is it that late already?" She peered over at the window hanging over her tidy bed. Finding the sun in the exact same place as before, she instead let her eyes sweep over the room to the digital clock by her lamp. It was late. "I guess it is. Wait, where are you staying?"

"At that little inn we saw before-" He stopped, wrinkling his nose in irritation. "The one kinda by the clocktower. I've been staying there ever since I got here."

"Oh." There was an inn? Her brow furrowed. She'd have to look for it on her way to school... And school, how would she ever concentrate anymore? There was too much to just ignore.

"Maybe you could stop by...?" he asked questioningly, for the first time seeming genuinely unsure. Hesitation and insecurity were unfamiliar on his face. "You know, after school. I haven't really got anything to do other than help out at the ice cream shop."

"Oh, okay, I will," she said, trying to keep the distraction from her voice. He perked up immediately, the usual calculating and confident mask coming back.

"Sounds good. G'night, Xi...on." With a waving salute, he started toward the door, but a mischievous smile played at his lips. Xion watched curiously as he turned on heel and made for the window.

"What are you doing?"

"See ya!" Flicking the clasp up and shoving the window back, he hopped over the windowsill and out, much to her surprise. She crashed into the edge of the windowsill and leaned out with a worried gasp.

"Axel, are you OK?" she called loudly, voice faltering at the end. A breath of relief slid from her lips when she saw him waving back with a 'it-was-only-two-stories' grin on his face. She may have had only a week's worth of memories, but she was sure that ordinary people didn't jump out windows very often. Especially two stories up. Without breaking anything. But really, Axel was anything but ordinary - and come to think of it, so was she.

_xxx_

The house was in a silent slumber as Xion made a feeble attempt at rest. Good night's rest... like that would be happening. Her brain felt like it had been put through a spin cycle and crammed back into her head.

If Axel was telling the truth, and there really was some Roxas out there that was her best friend, was Axel her best friend too? And what did that make her? And what happened to her memory in the first place? Axel had mentioned something about them being entangled in that of another. That couldn't be natural.

Questions continued to swim around her head, but she forced them down in favor of sleep. In a mental struggle, she eased herself into steady breathing and blank thoughts, rather than the peace of mind she couldn't seem to achieve.

Stifling silence crept into the raven-haired girl's ears as the blankets seemed to disappear from around her huddled form. The bed was no longer there; only darkness penetrated the thick air pressing in on her. Wherever she was, it was dark. Not only dark, but completely black, nothing but abyss coming at her from all angles.

"Are you certain you can trust Axel?" The words were in her head, and she almost thought they were her own. But they weren't - they were monotonous and deeper than her own.

"No... but I still do." Shivers traced themselves along her cold skin, her bare toes curling back reflexively. Xion drew into herself, trying not to be obvious about recoiling from the voice. Offending an ominous presence did not seem wise, especially when blind from a lightless void. Besides, it was just a dream... wasn't it?

"Then trust me. You should not."

Why was she even answering back? The words came to her unbidden. "Why?"

"He is not who he says. Or rather, has he even said who he is at all?" it trailed off.

"He's - my best friend," she said quietly, questioningly. The voice chuckled hollowly for a short moment, something closer to a scoff.

"Why believe him?"

The edge in the voice put her senses on alarm. "Because... I do."

"What a pathetic answer."

"_Because_ he is my best friend," she said defensively, gaining more courage. Was he really? But... she had sworn she would only consider him an ally, a friend at best until she could confirm anything he said. Maybe part of her just wanted him as a best friend. No matter, it was just a dream, an internal struggle with herself.

A chuckle resounded again, more akin to a scoff than the last time. "If that is what you wish to believe. Perhaps you can ask your best friend about it then..."

Xion frowned and squinted as her surroundings lightened. 'It'? There was no 'it' to talk about, unless the voice was referring to her entire situation. Which, apparently, she could not question about without passing out and having more short term memory loss.

She had expected the guest room, but the dark faded into pure white. The contrast from the black was so drastic she shut her eyes to shield herself from it, but the chaste white still was imprinted behind her closed eyelids.

"The mansion...?" The rhetorical question was meant to be a thought, but somehow it came to her lips. Nothing was much of a secret in her dreams, she supposed. The blank walls indeed resembled those of the mansion's little room (once) littered with all of those pictures, but this place was desolate and had not even the splashes of pastel crayon to bring it to life. Many of the formidable pillars had crashed to the floor - or perhaps had been dashed to the floor - and were lying amidst debris and cracked walls. Whatever force had probably done that had to have been powerful.

The faint tapping of footsteps against the cool tile echoed from its source coming down the stairs at the base of the ornate door at one end of the hall. The source was one standing before another kneeling painfully over the floor , both heavily battened down with the same dark cloak Axel wore.

The one on the floor... it was her.

"No, we didn't." It was Axel. His face was stony, withdrawn, his eyes aimed down at her hunched figure but averted to a spot slightly away from her. It scared the Xion standing by, unnoticed, to see how different this Axel was from the one she had just met. She desperately wanted to melt into the ground even though her mind had formed the conclusion that neither could see her. If she just turned away, shut her eyes as tight as she could...

"Yes, we did! Please Axel, help me..." the memory-she pleaded, and even being herself, Xion couldn't imagine how he could just ignore that. But he did. Nothing on his expressionless face changed. This was her best friend? For someone who used fire, he seemed impossibly cold.

_xxx_

"Xion?"

"Hm?"

She had woken up straight after the disturbing dream, memory, prediction, whatever it was. Her eyelids had felt as if they had been glued shut in her sleep, and the bedsheets had been crumpled from her curling up and gripping at it. The feeling that it wasn't an ordinary dream had settled into her bones, and there was absolutely no way she could shake it off.

"You're kind of spacey."

"Oh, sorry... Just a lot on my mind."

But that was stupid. A dream? She had been thinking about everything all yesterday; obviously it would affect her subconscious.

"I can imagine." Olette flashed her a brief, if not uneasy smile.

Yet memories were all in the mind, as were dreams. There was no telling where one began and the other ended, if they were the same or different -

"Yeah."

But mostly, the problem was Axel. If it was a memory, she felt at liberty to tell him. If it turned out not to be, then telling him would only drive a stake into the heart of the friendship they had only just begun (at least to her). But even if it was a memory, there was no telling whether or not Axel would tell the truth about it.

Were friendships always this complicated?

"Well, I've gotta go find Hayner and Pence. Do you want to come? We're doing our homework together - or at least, _I'll_ be doing my homework." Xion smiled a little at Olette's pout.

"No, I still have other work to sort out," she sighed, staring down guiltily at the stack of books in Olette's arms. "Sorry."

"Oh, no worries! I completely understand."

With that, Olette and her armful of books exited the library quietly, leaving Xion behind in quietude. The library seemed so much emptier without Olette's welcoming presence around.

But speaking of libraries and books, there had to be something on amnesiacs there. As the silent librarian organized a cartful of books by Dewey system, Xion approached him and whispered her query, to which he pointed down an isle on the other side of the wide room. With a hushed thank you, she set off to find information on her condition.

_xxx_

"Axel?" She knocked on the door hesitantly. It would be embarrassing to get the wrong room, but with such a small hotel, the concierge had to know which customers stayed where. Especially if Axel had stayed there for, how long had he said? A few weeks?

"Come in!"

She didn't feel comfortable entering without someone coming to the door, nor did she feel comfortable at all with him after the dream. Her research hadn't amounted to anything, but dreams like that were abnormal and perhaps a force to be reckoned with.

The door creaked open. "Where are you?" He wasn't on the bed, which was the first thing in her line of sight.

"Here." There was a sigh in his voice and a shuffling of papers. For every hesitant step she took, a paper sounded like it was being stacked away.

Axel was at the desk in the far corner, its short edge running along the window. Artificial light lit it rather than natural light, which he could have used had he simply thrown back the curtains. He slowly turned in the squeaking chair, most of his attention still on the desk and its contents, his back still to her.

It was strange; he almost looked like an average man organizing his business work. Xion had built him up to be someone completely different in her head, that someone with all the answers. He just looked normal.

He finally faced her. He definitely did not look as if he had gotten much sleep at all that night. His lips moved into a grin, as if it could distract her from how tired he seemed.

A twinge of guilt pulled at her chest. Whatever he had stayed up for, it had done with her. Maybe for her. To Xion, they had only just met, but there was a certain devoted steel to his eyes.

When she didn't say anything, the grin turned from a distraction to a real grin.

"Sorry if I'm all gross or something. I know girls find it absolutely _detestable_ to go a day without showering. I'll go wash up at least." He rubbed his face in a tiredly, never once mentioning why he had stayed up. "Oh, sorry, could you just stay in here for a bit? I'll try not to take too long."

"It's fine." Her lips formed a smile. As he walked past her, they wet themselves, then parted again. "Were... Were you up... all night?"

"That obvious?" He didn't miss a beat, unlike her.

"What I mean is, why?"

There was more hesitance on his part. "Just some research," he said offhandedly. When she didn't ask any more questions, he continued on into the bathroom with a few steps of his long stride.

She stared at the barren, somewhat unclean-looking carpet with a small frown. More secrets, or just chivalry? Maybe not chivalry, but just friendship.

Her eyes locked themselves on the sheaf of papers huddled on the corner of his desk, out of the light. She took a step, but she stopped herself. It would be wrong to look through his things.

Xion attempted to distract herself from them, trailing her eyes everywhere but that spot. They seemed trained on the papers, completely out of her control. When they guided her hand to reach for them, she craftily slid it down to snatch up the pad of blank sheets labeled with the hotel's name. With a triumphant, satisfied breath, she plopped herself onto the springy bed.

She flipped through the pages multiple times, but to both her relief and disappointment, there was nothing written in them. An unusual mischievous look played in her eyes, and she held a hand out and concentrated. The lights flicked briefly, but she took a breath and shut her eyes.

When they reopened, a tiny flame licked at the pad, the edges of the paper curling back. She stared on in amazement, not even bothering to look proud.

_xxx_

Axel finished washing his face, raking a hand through his hair. He gazed at the mirror impassively, watching his own expression remain emotionless as he ran the water through his fingers. His face seemed... lighter, in a sense. Maybe it was free of mental burdens, or somehow his skin had paled from the trip to the abyss and back. Though how he could have become even lighter than he had been after living in a town rained on with constant sunshine made no sense at all. A long finger traced over his right tattoo. Now, tattoos like THAT - they didn't just fade. It was all in his head.

A cringe-inducing shriek cut his examination short, and he burst out the door and back into the room. Xion was whipping her head back and forth in a frantic search for something, her eyes always coming back to whatever it was on the floor.

"What happened?"

"I - I accidentally set a paper on fire! I don't know how to put it out! Axel, you know how; make it stop!" she said in a rush, desperately pointing at it and shaking his arms uselessly.

With a snap of his fingers, the flames died away to leave behind a charred but still alive piece of paper.

"If you're going to set stuff on fire, you'll have to learn how -"

A blaring alarm was thrown from the fire alarm in one corner of the room, making Xion cringe as she continued to grip his arms tight.

"Better late than never, I suppose. I'm glad to know we're all safe if there was actually a real fire," the redhead said sarcastically with a grin. He had the urge to yell 'Fire!' down the hallway (something he had always been eager to do, but it never would have worked on his deceased comrades) and watch all the people run away like little ants from the spire of a nearby building (because standing on top of buildings was fun), but considering he was staying at the hotel he grudgingly decided against it. With another snap of his fingers, the fire alarm short circuited with a crackle.

After a series of heavy stomping through the halls, the door rattled violently as someone rammed into it and slammed it off its hinges and to the floor with a loud bang.

"The... alarm... fire..." panted the heavyset concierge, using the lonely doorframe for support. Two bellboys accompanied her with nervous looks.

"Uh, you see, the fire alarm -" Axel pointed at it, and they looked at it with confused looks. "It just spontaneously combusted. It's this new science thing; you should look into it. When the, uh, warm air comes in contact with the cold air, the friction causes this sporadic burst of energy. And things just combust, spontaneously. Apparently, it's more likely to happen in hotels. Pretty interesting stuff."

They stared at him.

"Or maybe it just got too HOT in here, I dunno..." He purposely rattled the frazzled Xion in his arms a little, looking at them pointedly.

"O-oh, I'm terribly sorry sir, we'll clean this all up later... I apologize for the inconvenience..." She picked the door back up and tried to settle it back into the doorframe unsucessfully before finally leaving with the two slightly grinning boys.

Xion slapped him across the face, though not hard enough to do any real damage. "Why did you say that?"

"Well how else was I supposed to get them to leave? '_Oh, yeah, my friend, she set something on fire with her_ magical powers. _And I short circuited the alarm with _more _fire_.' Which is also ironic, when you think about it. But that's aside the point!" He shook her again. "You have to be careful! If you can draw anything out of your memories, try to remember - it's all about being stealthy."

"And why do I have to worry about being stealthy?" She snapped her head away from him, crossing her arms.

"Because, you -" An extremely irritated look crossed his face. Not finding words that would make sense without telling her about the entire covert Organization they once were a part of, he groaned and threw his arms up in the air. "Because you just should! It's just this rule you need to follow when you do these kinds of things."

It was elementary; he had followed such for over ten years. Perhaps even into his childhood during pranking expeditions.

"I'm sorry I can't remember everything for you," she said harshly, head tilted down with a darkened expression. She turned for the door, pulling it back so it sat at an odd angle, half blocking the entryway. Already at the other end of the hall, she stormed around a corner and was out of sight.

"Wait! Xion, I -"

Suddenly he found himself running after her, his legs pushing him past confused staff and out the door. He knew she was aware of his advantage over her in speed, so she purposely rushed herself into one of the many alleyways. He flew by, keeping locked on the flash of black hair as it whipped around corners.

He was stupid. The irritated comments weren't even directed at her, but he took it out on her all the same. She didn't know that. And what else she didn't know was that it was just like last time. Screaming at her over something that, granted, bigger, wasn't her fault, that was out of his control. Things that he did, he could deal with. He could hate himself and be done with it. But things that someone else did, whether it was another person or fate, well, he wouldn't take it sitting down.

To see her go after another argument, especially something so petty... He panicked. He didn't like panic. It drove him insane; he could only imagine the frenzied animal he had been on the inside the few times he had panicked.

"Xion, please, Xion!"

Axel was in an all out sprint now, not really going anywhere, just following. He almost thought he had lost her, but there she was at that desolate lot, trapped between the buildings and him. He had her cornered; he really was a frenzied animal.

"Just go away, Axel." Her voice was husky, her eyes hidden from him. "Just go away."

The selfish part of him wanted to yell that she had overreacted. The somewhat selfish part wanted to hold her and keep her from escaping, give her empty promises so she wouldn't leave (him) ever again.

"No." There was a little of both selfishnesses in his answer.

Her little shoulders shook as she stated firmly, "Don't yell at me. I don't understand what's going on. I don't understand anything."

Still, she shook weakly despite her strong words. His eyes widened.

He had done it. He had made her cry. Not even two days to get to know the real Xion, and he had made her cry. Was that the real him, too?

"Xion, don't cry," he told her, borderline pleaded. He despised when girls cried. And Xion was not just "girls," she was Xion.

The Xion he remembered didn't cry. She was abused, told she was worthless, used, but she didn't cry. So why now did she cry? Was he really that terrible, that despicable?

"I..." He could only imagine her eyes running around. Her bangs shielded herself from him.

"I'm sorry," she finally murmured through tears. "I've just felt like I've had to cry, ever since I got here, and I took it out on you, and I'm-"

He smashed into her, embracing her for what was the second time in less than two days - maybe the second time in the time he had know her.

Had she gone on, he didn't know. There was only so much a person, a Nobody, could take.

Xion could hear him through his warmth, and it was as if a friendship she had never had was mended again.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for being absolute fail (and thank you Taliax for motivating me to finish this chapter up XD). A bit random, but I'd be upset about losing my memories too I guess. (In my headcanon, Axel despises whengirls cry.)<em>

_Thank you all so much for you reviews; they're always loved~_


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